A 28-year-old Kent man faces a second-degree murder charge for allegedly running over a smoke shop clerk with a Jeep on the West Hill after the clerk tried to stop him from stealing a can of soda.

Jahmari Jaali Simpson pleaded not guilty to the charge Oct. 1 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Simpson remains in custody at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle with bail set at $2 million, according to jail records. He is scheduled to return to court Oct. 20 for a pre-trial hearing.

Si Bog Lee, 58, of Covington, died of a blunt force head injury, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, which ruled the death a homicide. Lee died Sept. 22 from his injuries at Harborview Medical Center in Seattl

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